Expansion joint



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Feb. 4, 1941. 5, IRVJIN v EXPANSION JO IHT Filed March 9, 1939 Patented Feb. '4, 1941 PATENT OFFICE EXPANSION JOINT Gavotte .I. Irwin, Akron, Ohio, assignor to The B. F. Goodrich Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 9, 1939, Serial No. 260,739

Claims.

This invention relates to expansion joints and is useful especially in joints of flooring and pavements in which one or both of the jointed sections may be 01 concrete, wood, metal, composi- 5 tion or any other suitable material. It is desirable in some cases to provide both for sealing the joint against ingress of foreign matter and for coverage of the joint to avoid accumulation of the foreign matter upon the the flooring and usually spaced somewhat from the flooring so that entrance of foreign matter into the space has not been completely prevented. Also, such construction, unless very carefully built, has often lacked attractive .ap-

ance, especially in buildings of inexpensive constructlon.

The chief objects of this invention are to pro-- vide for eflectively sealing the joint and permitting contraction-and expansion of the adjacent structures through wide. ranges, to provide for simplicity in assembling the joint and to provide durability of construction and attractiveness of appearance. T

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a resilient sealing strlp'that can be readily inserted into the joint space but which will efiectively resist return movement, in com- 40 bination with means for covering the joint space. "In the case of'jointsat the margins of building flooring, it is an object to provide for engaging both the floor and the wall by an element of the is at once sealecl. and covered in an attractive manner so that the use of base boards and trimming strips .ls'unnecessary.

These and other objects will be apparent from the following description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing in which:

1 is a perspective view of ahead of a strip f constructed according to and embodying the in- I vention.

5 A Fig. 2 is a cross-section in perspective of the sealing structure in such a manner that the joint strip of Fig. l mounted in the joint space-between two concrete sections. I

Fig. 3 is a view like Fig. Lbut showing a modi-, fled construction suitable especially for sealing the expansion voids at the margins of flooring. 5

Fig. 4 is a cross-section showing the strip of v Fig. 4 mounted in such an expansion void.

Fig. 5 is a view like Fig. 4 but showing a further modified construction. 1

Referring to the embodiment of Figs. 1 and 2, the sealing strip shown is adapted to be inserted into the joint space between two sections A and B ofa concrete pavement or other structure. The strip which is of rubber or other resilient rubber-like material, comprises a lower body por- 15 1 tion indicated generally at l0 and a covering portion H integral with the body. The covering portion l i preferably is tapered at its margins or flanges l2 and I3, which margins may be downwardly. curved somewhat so that close engagement of the margins with the pavement surface will be effected, although-margins that extend with their under surfaces horizontally have been found to maintain their positions effectively also. 35

The body portion I0 comprises legs l4 and I5 which extend downwardly and diverge and'are joinedfto the covering portion il in a relative y narrow neck portion as shown. so that when the body is inserted into 'a joint space of lesser width than the body portion the body portion will be compressed laterally and maintain resilient pres? sure against the walls of the space with little or no upward bulging of the covering portion II. It is preferred to unite the legs by a downwardly curved bridging portion i6 so that a tubular strip is'provided. Bythis construction effective resilient pressure against the walls is maintained throughout a wide range of contraction and expansion of the pavement sections. The diverging relation of the legs it and i5 also makes possible a toggle action of these legs in which each leg hinges about the zone of its juncture with the other leg and with the covering p'ortion ii and thus functions as a pawl to resist further downward movement of the strip in the joint space. At the sides of the body portion areoutwardly andupwardly projecting ribs ll, l8, i9, 20 in tegral with the body portion, which ribs preferably are tapered toward their outer ends so that when the strip has been inserted in the slot these ribs will be flexed resiliently against the'walls of. the s'pace'and willresistmupward or return movemeat-oi the strip by virt e of the resilient pawl;

like action of these ribs against the walls of the Joint space.

The proportions of the strip are such the when the strip is inserted in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2 the margins i2 and I3 of the 4 cover portion will over-lie the pavement throughout a wide range of contraction and expansion of the layer. Eflective sealing of the Joint space is thus provided and at the same time the joint is the upper surface of which is raised only slightly above the pavement surface and presents only a very slight protuberance to pedestrian and vehicular traflic. The covering effectively prevents accumulation of foreign matter upon the sealing strip and serves rather to shed such matter. Owing to the toggle action of the legs I4 and it, above referred to, downward pressure .upon the covering portion ll serves to increase the resistance of the strip to downward movement in the joint so that it is eflectively heldin Place against movement,ln both the upward and downward directions.

This strip is suitable especially for use in fee-'- tired trafllc moves over the joints, and also for sidewalks, private drives and the like where it is desired to protect the edges of the concrete from beingehipped.

The embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4 is suitable especially for sealing the expansion voids at the margins of flooring in buildings and around columns, outlet boxes,'et'c. This strip not only permits expansion and contraction of the structures while it seals, but also covers the void and protects it against the ingress of foreign matter, and also serves omamentally to finish the margin in lieu of base boards and trimming strips. The floor, which may be of wood, composition or other suitable material is indicated at A and, the underlying base, which may be of concrete, is indicated at B.- A layer C of bituminous or other suitable material underlies the flooring A to permit slipp ge of thefloor upon the base during relative contraction and expansion. In the void between the flooring A and'the wall 3 is inserted a sealing strip 20 which may. be similar in construction to the strip of Fig. 1 except as to the covering element. One margin or flange ii of the covering element 22 adapted to overlie the flooring A may be downwardly inclined for a lip-sealing action or it may be horizontal as in the case of the margins of the strip of Fig. 1, and the other margin 23 is upwardly inclined for tight sealing engagement with the wallB by a resilient lip action.

To this end the margin 23 is formed with a concave under-surface 24, in Fig. 3', so that when the strip is inserted the margin 23 will be mainm tained resiliently pressed against the wall to the edge of the margin- Preferably this margin 33' and the margin 2! tapers to a flne edge so as to maintain close engagement with the wall and the flooring respectively. -'Ii desired, the margin on 23 may be cementedor otherwise adhered to the wall because little or no movement occurs here. although such adhesion is not essential. To facilitate cleaning and to present an attractive surface the. upper face of the strip is preferably 70 concavely curved, as shown. By' providing the strip with less depth than the void, and, as in the case of theflrst embodiment, becauseof the relatively narrow joiningneck portion, bulging of the strip under lateral compression when the 73 flooring expands, will be inward and downward effectively covered by theeovering portion ii,-

tory floorings, the alleyways where light, steelso that little or no distortion of the upper face of the strip will occur. 7

In;the embodiment of Fig. 5 sealing strip 530 is like the strip of Fig. 4 except that its wall'e'ngaging margin3l of the covering element 32 of the strip is extended upwardly to protect the lower part of the wall adjacent the floor in the manner ofa base board. This strip is preferably formed so that before insertion the margin 3| is inclined and bowed as indicated by the broken line 33. Thus, when the strip is inserted, the margin 3| will be held flexed against the wall by a lip actionI and will maintain itself tightly in place with or without theuse of an adhesive material.

Variations may be made without departing from the invention as it is defined in the following claims. 1

I claim:

1. A strip for sealing the expansion void in a pavement or flooring structure or the like wherein the walls of the void move extensively toward and away from one another during expansion and contraction of the structure, said strip being of resilient rubber-like material and comprising a covering portion having marginal flanges adapted to overlie face portions of the structure, a body portion united integrally with said covering portion intermediate the margins thereof and adapted to engage the walls of the void under lateral compression-therebetween, the union between said covering and the body portions being provided by a neck portion relatively narrow as compared to said covering and body portions for accommodating flexure of said body portion itself against the wall of the void substantially without causing bulging of the covering portion.

of and adapted to engage the walls of the voidunder lateral compression therebetween, the' union-between said covering and the body portions being provided by a neck portion relatively narrow as compared'to said covering and body portions so that flexure of said wall of the tubular bodyagainst a wall of the void is accommodated substantially without causing bulging of the covering portion when the strip is mounted with the body portion thereof underlateral compression in the void.

3. A strip for sealingthe expansion void in a pavement or flooring structure or the like wherein the walls of the void move extensively toward and away from one another during expansion'and contraction of the structure, said strip being of resilient rubber-like material and comprising a covering portion havingmarginal flanges adapted to overlie face portions of the structure and a body portion united integrally with said covering portion intermediate the margins thereof in a neck portion relatively narrow as compared to said covering and body portions, said body portion being tubular with a wall thereof protruding laterally beyond said neck portion,. and said body portion havlngribs projecting laterally outward from said wall of the tubular body so that flexure of said ribs against the walls of the void and flexure 01' said wall of the tubular body are accommodated substantially without causing bulging of the covering portion when the strip is mounted with the body portion thereof under lateral compression in the void.

4. A strip as defined in claim 3 in which one marginal flange of the covering portion is upturned to engage an upstanding surface.

5. A strip for sealing the expansion void in a pavement or flooring structure or the like wherein the walls-of the void n ove extensively toward and away from one another during expansion l q p and contraction of the structure, said strip being of resilient rubber-like material and comprising a covering portion having marginal flanges adapted to overlie face portions of the structure and a body portion united integrally with said covering portion intermediate the margins thereof in a neck portion relatively narrow as compared to said covering and body-portions, said ,body portion being tubular and having ribs projecting laterally outward from the walls thereof and inclined toward the level of said covering portion.

GAVO'I'I'E J. IRWIN. 

